Regulator keeps quiet about Carter Holt claims

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Australia's competition watchdog has refused to comment on
Carter Holt Harvey's belief that it has been cleared of price
fixing in the cardboard box industry.

A spokesman for the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission said on Friday he would not comment on whether an
investigation into the company's alleged activities was taking
place.

The ACCC's public position follows a statement from CHH chief
executive Peter Springford on Thursday when releasing the annual
results. Mr Springford said CHH had approached the ACCC earlier in
the week. "At this stage, the ACCC have advised us they have no
evidence to suggest we are involved in the Amcor issues in
Australia," he said.

A CHH spokesman said on Friday that the company understood the
ACCC's comments to mean it was not a focus of the Australian
investigation. "The investigation is going on and we are happy to
help with that," he said.

CHH's two rivals in Australia, Amcor and Visy Industries, have
been the focus of an ACCC investigation into possible breaches of
competition law. Visy and Amcor control more than 90 per cent of
Australia's $2.2 billion corrugated box market. CHH is a distant
third.

Mr Springford's comments do not relate to New Zealand, where the
Commerce Commission is also investigating the three companies
following allegations of anti-competitive behaviour.

The ACCC probe was sparked when five Amcor executives left to
set up a consultancy business, Australasian Manufacturing
Consulting Group. CHH employs four of the former executives.

Amcor CEO Russell Jones and the head of the company's
Australasian operations, Peter Sutton, resigned in November when
the allegations of anti-competitive trading became public.